the dangerous cycle

I haven't been able to run "well" since March.  Even going out for short quick runs has been causing strain on my left calf.

Super bummer!

Especially when 2012 was filled with running.  Running was my job, my gift, my passion.  It's what I spoke about at each speaking engagement.  

Being a long distance runner, I thought I knew what was going on with my leg, each time I would access and diagnose the situation, "Maybe it's my tendon, a hair line fracture or perhaps a muscle tear.  You know, all the running you did last year probably was the result of this."

And thus was the cycle I fell into.  I call it "The dangerous cycle of an injured long distance runner." (insert dramatic music here).

• Injury accrued.  
• Attempt to run.  
• Re-injure or strain whatever was previously injured or strained.
• Evaluate, asses and diagnose the pain as if you were a doctor.
• Attempt to run.
• Re-Re-injure or strain.
• Say you are going to "Rest." (Codeword for I'm going to bike, swim, walk, jumping jacks)
• Attempt to run.
• Re-Re-Re-injure or strain.
• ... and so on and so on  

I don't know if it is pride, ego, or unawareness; what I should have done in March was go to the doctor, but I didn't.  I thought I could fix it, and was completely naive, thinking I knew what was wrong with my body.  I mean seriously, if I could spend a year on the road, running up to 55 miles pushing a 150 gear cart, couldn't I figure out what was wrong with my lower leg?  I sustained very few injuries on the Awake My Sole journey, and now I can't even go for a 2 mile run without my leg feeling strained.

After moping and complaining about not being able to run, my incredible wife shared some words of wisdom with me, "Doctors go to school to figure out how to asses and diagnose injuries."

I gave in and finally went in to the doctor.  Six months later.

I entered the doctor's office.  At most, waited for about 5 minutes.  Filled out some forms.  The doctor asked me to walk around the office.  Observed my stride and patterns.  Put me on a bench and moved my leg, asked if it hurt when she moved it a certain way.  I told her when it hurt.  Brought me off the bench and said:

"You have a strained Peroneus Longus muscle.  You need to stop turning your left foot outwards when you run, turn it in straight ahead, and you need to walk from your heal of your foot to the toe of your foot, not to roll on the outside of your foot.  That should help."

That was it!  In less than 15 minutes, my injury was assessed, diagnosed and what the next steps for treatment were.

It's been a humbling process.

So, I've been walking 30 minutes every day with my left foot turned in.  Hope to be back and running soon, and thus blogging too.

this "thank you" goes out to Charity for assessing and diagnosing my leg.  

The Road ahead

Running Saved His Life

I'm recovering well from yesterday's exhausting 54 mile run.  In fact, due to yesterday's heat I did a lot of sweating.  To replenish the sodium my body sweat out, I ate this whole jar of pickles.

Aside from eating a jar of pickles, I wanted to post about an incredible person I met in Davenport this last week.

Scott.

Today's blog post is about how "Running Saved His Life."

Allow me to explain:

Thanks to social media, Scott had been following the Awake My Sole journey on Facebook.  He came across AMS by clicking on it, you know, those little annoying adds on the side of Facebook.  Which is pretty cool, cause he messaged me saying, "I live in Davenport, I run often and would love to run with you, maybe share my story with you."

So, Saturday morning Scott and I met in the parking lot of Redband Coffee Company.  I conveniently scheduled our running to start and stop at Redband, I was going to treat myself to a cup of coffee afterwards.

We ran a little over 5-miles, a loop Scott runs often.  It crosses from Davenport over into Rock Island and back again.  Here is a pic of Scott and I on one of the bridges.




One of the first things I noticed about Scott was all of his tattoos.  In general, tattoos fascinate me, so very quickly I asked "What do your tattoos mean?"

He called them his "sobriety tats."

For a good portion of our run, he willingly shared his story of battling against drugs and alcohol.

He said, "I have a very addictive personality, and I was addicted to some of the wrong things."

He shared some stories of being in jail, how he lied and how he pursued things that weren't healthy for him.

He knew he needed to turn his life around, that his life was going nowhere fast.  So, he started working at a local gym.  It was at the gym where he discovered running.

He quickly fell in love with running.  Almost like his new healthy addiction.

Now, he's sober, and he gets tats to help remind him of his vow of sobriety.  

He mentioned, "Before I heard about your Awake My Sole journey, I was considering running from New York to Iowa."

Maybe he could be the next Awake My Sole runner.

I was hugely inspired by Scott's story, by his determination to stay sober and by his overall love for life.

I asked him, "Can I share your story with others?"

He said "of course."

I also asked him, "Would it be appropriate to say 'Running saved your life?' "

He said, "Along with my faith, Yes, running saved my life."

Treating myself to coffee, reflecting over my run with Scott

It was great meeting Scott, and to see how running has impacted his life in such a good way.  Part of the AMS journey is meeting people, and it was a blessing to meet Scott.

Running with purpose in every step...

Jim